1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for cutting and bending a workpiece such as rebar, reinforcing rod, and the like, and in particular to those that are sufficiently compact and portable as to be easily transported to building construction sites.
2. Background Art
A variety of lengths and configurations of rebar or reinforcing rods must be embedded within concrete structures when creating concrete foundations, walls, floors, columns, and other concrete building components. This requires shearing the rebar into pieces of the required dimensions and, in some cases, for example, when erecting concrete columns, further requires bending the sheared pieces through one or more bends. Bend angles may vary from 0 to 360 degrees. Although relatively large, non-portable devices exist by which fabricators can make the required cuts and bends, it is desirable to be able to use a portable device at the construction site to make the required cuts and bends. The present invention fulfills that need.
Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,615, disclosed portable apparatus for bending and cutting a workpiece. A workpiece was held stationary by a bending pin actuated by a hydraulic cylinder that clamped the workpiece to a support plate. A second hydraulic cylinder lifted a movable bending member toward the workpiece, bending the workpiece about the bending pin in the process. A fixed cutting member and a movable cutting member in side to side abutment were provided. A workpiece inserted through aligned slots in the fixed and movable bending members would be sheared when the slots were moved out of alignment by a hydraulic cylinder.
Ireland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,751, disclosed a portable reinforcing rod cutter and bender. For cutting, a workpiece was inserted transversely through an aperture in a stationary cutting die, and a longitudinally-movable cutting shear blade actuated by a hydraulic cylinder sheared the workpiece. For bending, a workpiece was inserted transversely between a stationary die block and a longitudinally movable anvil actuated by a hydraulic cylinder; the die block had a concave, arcuate recess and the anvil had, in mating opposition thereto, a convex, arcuate surface such that advancement of the anvil toward the die block cause the workpiece to bend.
The devices of Brown and Ireland had limited ability, however, to create multiple bends in a workpiece such as rebar and they provide no convenient means for doing so. Ireland's device required a multiplicity of die block's of varying sizes, for instance, in order to create bends of different radii, requiring attaching and detaching selected die blocks each time a new bend radius was required. A need remains, therefore, for a portable device that is capable of not only cutting rebar but also of making multiple bends of up to 360 degrees each in a piece of rebar.